Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. comes out ahead on 4 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index, which grades pollsters on how close their final polls came to actual results from 1998 to 2022.
| Measure | Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. | Morning Consult |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 59/100 ★ | 41/100 |
| Average error how far final polls missed the result | 4.4 pts ★ | 4.5 pts |
| Versus expected error compared with what its races predicted | 0 better ★ | 0.1 worse |
| Consistency random miss once its tilt is removed | ±4 pts | ±2.7 pts ★ |
| Historical bias closer to even is better | D+2.2 ★ | D+4 |
| Winners called | 67% | 71% ★ |
| Track record final polls analyzed, 1998–2022 | 42 polls | 74 polls |
| 2026 polls | 21 | 13 |
| 2026 lean versus other polls of the same races | D+0.8 | — |
Compare them in the interactive Trust Index All pollster ratings
More comparisons: Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. YouGov · Morning Consult vs. YouGov · Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. Emerson College · Emerson College vs. Morning Consult · Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Morning Consult vs. University of New Hampshire Survey Center · Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research vs. New York Times/Siena College · Morning Consult vs. New York Times/Siena College
Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. has the smaller average error (4.4 pts vs. 4.5 pts). Overall, beacon Research/Shaw & Co. comes out ahead on 4 of 6 measures in the Crosstab Trust Index (Beacon Research/Shaw & Co.: B, Trust Score 59; Morning Consult: B-, Trust Score 41).
Grades: Crosstab Trust Index, computed from FiveThirtyEight's pollster-ratings data (CC BY 4.0), 1998–2022; 2026 measures from Crosstab's polling data.
Updated 2026-10-04 · Crosstab, nonpartisan polling analysis.